With Sereno ouster, Duterte is most powerful post-Marcos president — int’l think tank

MANILA, Philippines — With his supermajority support in Congress and a new chief justice to pick, President Rodrigo Duterte now holds more power than any of his predecessors in the post-Marcos Fifth Republic, a New York-based think tank said.

“Indeed, notwithstanding his very public rejection of TIME magazine’s cover placing him alongside known ‘despots’ (his words), the test of the president’s true character depends henceforth on how he wields his enormous power,” GlobalSource Partners said in its recent country insight for the Philippines.

GlobalSource, which covers emerging markets like the Philippines to provide clients information and analysis on a country’s risks and opportunities, was commenting on the recent removal of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by the Supreme Court. It said the ouster of the top magistrate means “one less vocal dissenter” in the high court on administration-supported issues.

“While they say that the effects of the decision will be ‘subtle’ and unlikely to be disruptive in the short term, one political analyst argues that the ‘rule of law image will suffer a crippling blow,’” GlobalSource noted.

Voting 8-6 in a special en banc session, the high tribunal only took two months to decide on Solicitor General Jose Calida's “quo warranto” petition, which challenged the legality of Sereno's appointment mainly on the grounds of missing wealth declarations.

Duterte, who has made no secret of his dislike for Sereno, earlier called the country’s first female chief justice his “enemy” who must be removed from the high tribunal. But the president had denied involvement in unseating Sereno.

Meanwhile, some have expressed concern that the landmark ruling paves the way for a constitutional crisis, wherein the high court has assumed a function the fundamental law grants solely to Congress—to oust the chief justice through impeachment proceedings.

Sereno is the first top magistrate to be ousted by her peers and the second chief justice to lose the seat in the high court after her predecessor, the late Renato Corona, was impeached for not disclosing to the public his wealth.

Sereno's camp already said that they would appeal the ruling.